President George Weah has once again called for an African Carbon Market to enhancement the fight against climate change by strengthening capacities and resilience against the growing effects of climate change.
The Liberian leader was speaking Thursday February 2, 2023 Liberia Forest & Climate Resilience Forum, at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia, held under the theme Catalyzing Renewed Commitments to Strengthen Partnerships in sustainable Forrest Management: A key Strategy Supporting President Weah’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Economic Development’.
The Forum organized by the Government of Liberia and partners including the Government of Norway, the World Bank, the Government of the United Kingdom, the United Sates Government and others brought over 100 participate from the conservation sector to deliberate on of the Country forest and Climate Resilience.
President Weah re-echoed his called made at COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021 for the creation of an African Carbon Market as the basis for a concerted effort to address climate change, saying that developed countries who are the highest pollutants to pay for their damage.
“We want to use this opportunity to reiterate our call for our country and other countries in the region to work together with our development partners and the private sector, to establish and operationalize an Africa Carbon Market,” President he said.
The Liberian Leader said Forum as an important breakthrough in the collective effort of his government to achieve its national development plan, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), through sustainable forest management and climate finance.
President Weah said the Forum is part of Liberia national vision for managing its forests in a sustainable way, and contributing to global efforts to address climate change, while leveraging carbon payments for national and community development.
He said the forum is a signal to partners that their support will not only help achieve socio-economic development in Liberia, but will also help to save our planet.
President Weah mentioned that since his ascendency, Liberia continues to provide strong leadership on climate change, noting that for the first time since 2006, the government of Liberia was able to prepare a State of the Environment Report and a National Environmental Action Plan in 2021”.
This report he said, will inform development policy and investment decisions in key sectors going forward.
According to President Weah, the government is also developing the capacities of communities to manage their forests, including land-use planning and formalization. “We are improving policies and revising laws and regulations, for commercial forestry to be more sustainable. Of course, there are still challenges and issues, but we remain unrelenting in our efforts to deal with them. Sooner, rather than later, under my leadership, we will surmount these challenges in order to ensure that forest resources benefit all Liberians” the Liberian leader asserted.
He noted that the government was looking to the future with confidence as Liberia continues to work with her development partners, in improving governance of the forest sector and enabling forest-dependent communities develop sustainable jobs and income-creation enterprises
President Weah asserted that his government is commitment which he said will be demonstrated through actions, that Liberia stands with the rest of the world in combating climate change.
President Weah extoled the country international partners who continue to contribute to the development of the forest and environmental sectors of Liberia while applauding partners who help Liberia mobilize resources to meet its commitments as captured the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
EU Ambassador slams Liberia
Speaking at the gathering, European Union Head of Delegation, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse said despite some effort by the government and partners, the EU VPA FLEGT initiative is retrogressing.
A FLEGT licence is a document that confirms that a shipment of timber products has been legally produced, in accordance with the relevant laws of the country of export and are considered to comply with requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), while the VPA is a voluntary Partnership Agreement.
Ambassador Delahousse said Liberia was far from delivering FLEGT license, despite the objective been set on two different occasions in 2012 and 2022.
Speaking on the topic International Commitment to support Forest Governance, the EU head of delegation said Coherence, poor Governance and sustainability were lacking which was undermining FLEGT initiative.
He said despite deforestation in Liberia been among the highest in the world, the EU is not seen pertinent and timely action, but is been left to witness and attitude of causal happiness, if not denial as if everything is fine.
According to him, the International Community takes into consideration efforts, operational commitment, the policies, strategy and concrete actions that reverse rapid deforestation, noting that investors do not put their money on status quo or on promise, but on solid vision of gaining tangible results.
As regarding to governance, the EU ambassador name three challenges that still exist which undermine the efforts that has been made.
He named the failure of Liberia to implement laws governing the sector, low tax efficiency which when improved could see rise in revenue from the forest sector to US$10 million from US$ 5 million as its stands.
He explained that the benefit sharing mechanism for communities are not respected, worsening livelihood and reducing the financial and social benefits for affected communities in forest concession.
Speaking on sustainable, the former French Ambassador to Liberia noted that country forestry system is hardly sustainable, noting that the sector is characterized by what he calls short replacements, the lack of proper forest management plans, illegal logging which are threats to forest regeneration and which effects the commercial and the global value of the forest.
He however proposed scores of recommendations, which but not limited to the need to quickly stop deforestation and sustainably manage the forests and biodiversity by several means, that forest issues be tackled with a multi-sectoral approach in order to focus on all the drivers of deforestation, forest issues be mainstreamed in all the policies and always be on the top of the agenda, that Liberia and partners focus on community forest at different levels, especially on governance, livelihood alternatives and sustainable forestry practices.
Ambassador Laurent Delahousse noted that Beyond the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), and in the context of its holistic approach to forest, since COP 27, the EU has lunched forests Partnerships with five countries by signing tailor –made MoUs and invited the Government of Liberia to assess the opportunity and join the other five countries in their ambitions.
Participants at the forum deliberated on several issues including what Liberia can do to asses climate change fund to help to protect the climate, what sustainable plans that is needed to sustained and manage the forest and how communities’ dwellers surviving on the forest can be provided alternatives livelihoods among others.
It was Liberia biggest Forest and Climate Resilience Forum since COP 27 in Scotland in 2021 and in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in 2022.
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